Landscape Fabric Blues

I am hereby convinced that landscape fabric is too much of a hassle to even bother with.  It works only until there is enough humus (hew-mus, not hum-es.  The latter is a delicious chickpea dip!)on top of it and then weeds start sprouting and their roots go into the fabric and it's all a mess.  I learned this while trying to weed a garden bed that was left unattended for, who knows how long.  The hardest part was trying to pierce this fabric to allow a few annuals to grow.  PAIN  IN ASS!

Landscape fabric is more or less intended to give certain plants room to grow, and then they would take up the mantle of weed fighting.  Upon reading Lasagna Gardening (got it for .99..sooooo worth it anyway) I learned about using newspaper!  Sweet!  A cheap, biodegradable weed barrier that will break down and feed the soil! It works too!

Simply start saving newspapers.  Place them around the bed in layers 5 pages thick.  TADAA!!  It's a bit trickier to work with until you get either mulch or water to hold it down, and it doesnt come in nice big sheets like other fabrics do.  If you were doing this for a large bed you could purchase the end rolls of newspaper from a newspaper printer, and just put down 5 layers of it.


Look it up!  Check it out!

Eeeeeeeeeee!!!!

For this:	Try this:
Air freshener	Simmer cinnamon and cloves
Aluminum spot remover	2 tablespoons cream of tartar + 1 quart hot water
Ants	Red chili powder at point of entry
Bleach	Borax
Brass polish	Worcestershire sauce
Car battery corrosion	Baking soda + water
Chrome polish	Apple cider vinegar; then polish with baby oil
Cleaners (general household)	Baking soda
Coffee cup stain remover	Moist salt
Coffee pot stain	Vinegar
Copper cleaner	Lemon juice + salt
Decal remover	Soak in white vinegar
Dish detergent - grease cutter	1/2 cup baking soda + usual amount of liquid detergent
Drain cleaner	Plunger followed by 1/2 cup baking soda + 1/2 cup of vinegar + 2 quarts boiling water
Fertilizer	Compost and vermicompost
Fiberglass stain remover	Baking soda paste
Flea & tick repellent	Scatter pine needles, fennel, rye or rosemary on pet's bed
Fleas (on pets)	Feed pet brewer's yeast, vitamin B or garlic tablets
Flies (insects)	Well watered pot of basil
Floor cleaner	1 cup vinegar + 2 gallons water
Furniture polish	1 tablespoon lemon oil in 1 pint of mineral oil
Garbage disposal deodorizers	Used lemons
Grease fire	Douse with baking soda
Grease removal	Borax on damp cloth
Handcleaner for paint/grease	Baby oil
Ink spot remover	Cold water + 1 tablespoon cream of tartar + 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Insects on plants	Soapy water on leaves, then rinse
Laundry detergent	Basic soap
Laundry pre-soak	Make paste of washing soda & water; apply to spots
Linoleum floor cleaner	1 cup white vinegar + 2 gallons water
Mildew remover	Equal parts of vinegar and salt
Mosquito repellent	Burn citronella candles
Moth repellent	Cedar chips or dried lavendar enclosed in cotton sachets
Multi-Purpose Cleaner	Mix 1/2 cup ammonia, 1/3 cup vinegar, 1/4 cup baking soda in 1 gallon of warm water
Nematode (parasitic worm) repellent	Plant marigolds
Oil stain remover	White chalk rubbed into stain before laundering
Oven cleaner	2 tablespoons liquid soap + 2 teaspoons borax + warm water
Paint; oil based/stain/spray	Water-based, non-aerosol paints
Paint brush softener	Hot vinegar
Perspiration spot remover	Baking soda
Pet odor remover	Cider vinegar
Porcelain cleaner	Make paste from baking soda & water; let set, rub clean and rinse
Refrigerator deodorizer	Open box baking soda
Roach repellent	Chopped bay leaves and cucumber skins
Rug/carpet cleaner	Club soda
Rust removal (clothing)	Lemon juice + salt + sunlight
Rusty bolt/nut removal	Carbonated beverage
Scorch mark removal	Grated onion
Scouring powder	Baking Soda
Shaving cream	Brush and shaving soap
Shoe polish	Banana peel
Silver polish	1 quart warm water + 1 tablespoon baking soda + piece of aluminum foil + 1 tablespoon salt
Slug and snail repellent	Onion and marigold plants
Spot remover	Club soda, lemon juice, or salt
Stainless steel polish	Mineral oil
Toilet bowl cleaner	Paste of borax + lemon juice
Tub and tile cleaner	1/4 cup baking soda + 1/2 cup white vinegar + warm water
Upholstery spot removal	Club soda
Water mark removal	Toothpaste
Water softener	1/4 cup vinegar
Wine stain removal	Salt
Window cleaner	Use 1/2 cup of vinegar in 1 gallon of warm water
Wood polish	3 parts olive oil + 1 part white vinegar; almond or olive oil (interior unvarnished wood only)

No Such Thing as a Low-Maintenance Garden?

BALONEY!
This apparently is the consensus between unknowing 'garden snobs' as I read it in The Scoop(?I dont remember?).  In reality it's actually no such thing as a NO-maintenance garden.

There are quite a few ways to have a more or less low maintenance garden, you just have to do a lot of research first.  

If you want the easiest way pass by until you get to the link at the bottom.




It all starts with the soil.  Have your soil tested to see if it's missing something, and what type it is.  You can also do the ribbon test. The three main types are clay, sand, and loam.

• Clay soil retains moisture and organic matter far longer than the others, it also has less air space so some plants have a hard time growing and some tend to get rot in this kind of soil.
• Sandy soil holds on to moisture, and liquid fertilizer for only a short amount of time, but it is easier for some plants to root in.
• Loam is considered the happy medium and easiest for most plants.
• 
  

Plant for your soil type.  Keeping this in mind, the plants will be healthier and happier without much work.  You could try soil amendments if you really wanted to, but eventually the ground will go back to what it originally was.

• Moisture-loving plants with strong roots, low-no rot potential, and high fertility needs will do awesome in clay.  Some of these are called 'clay busters'.  
• Plants with tender roots that don't mind poor soils and like it drier will do well in sand.  (ie.Rugosa Rose will actually do well in pure sand!).  
• The majority of plants will do well in loam, unless they are super picky and want something else.  
• Plant natives, they know how to deal with it all.

 Sun/Shade?  This is the one most people remember.  It's right there on the tag and it's pretty easy right?  Yes and no.

• Some plants will go just about every and anywhere.  These are nice because as everything else grows in, your sunny spot might suddenly become very shady.  Makes gardening design much easier.
• There is more than simple sun/shade.  There's Full Sun, Hot Sun, Part Sun/Shade, Dappled Sun/Shade, Shade, Full Shade, and Deep Shade.  AND IT MOVES!  This is a pain cause if a plant is picky and it's put in the wrong spot it will get thin, leggy and dumb looking.
• Depending on the location of sun/shade the watering levels change.  Full Sun/Hot Sun need more and Shade/Deep Shade need less, so you have to screw with your watering schedule at least the first year.

Know your friends.  There are a whole bunch of companion plants out there that lend a hand to others where it comes to pest/disease control,even beauty and scent!  (ie.Garlic/Onions and Roses)

• This step helps to encourage more bio-diversity which also lessens the chance of a huge infestation of pests/diseases.
• Some plants help by simply attracting our friends the beneficial predator bugs, which eat the bad bugs.  Learn what these guys look like.
• Look how pretty roses and lavender look together (right).  Lavender helps by confusing the scent of smell for many bugs, plus they look gorgeous in a bouquet together!  Lavender helps a lot inside the house as well.
• If a problem is bad enough you can also try trap crops, or just plant something else.

Know your enemies.  This can be the Japanese beetles eating your roses, the lovely dandelions cheering up your otherwise perfect bluegrass lawn (I'm a fan of dandelions and hate bluegrass, so I'm biased), or even the powdery mildew epidemic against our beloved impatiens.  If you don't want it there it's a weed.

• Get a good pest book.  This will help you know who this pest is and the best way to control it.  (No such thing as eradication)
• Get a hand lens.  Some of those darn buggies are tiny!
• Do NOT use pesticides unless there is a major problem!  (I know they are an easy way to kill things NOW, but if you put in the work beforehand you shouldn't have to) Once you start using them you can start on a treadmill which will never stop needing pesticides.
• Don't till if you don't need to.  This can bring up old weed seeds to the surface.  Instead check out Lasagna Gardening.

Plain ole good design.  This is what everything in this article boils down to.  If you put the right plants in the right spot with the right conditions you can't go wrong!  (You might be sad because your plants don't need you much, if so feel free to plant a few princess plants up by your house.)

• Planting clumps close together makes your garden fill out faster and shades out weeds, no room to grow!
• I like using a bio-degradable 'landscape fabric', or 5 layers of newspaper.  The weed barrier the newspaper provides gives the plants a head start on any weedy bullies.  When it breaks down it's good for the soil, hence good for the plant.
• Spend at least 10 minutes a day walking through, day dreaming, and enjoying your work.  This gives you time to notice any tiny problems before they become BIG problems.  Besides... why go through all that work if you are not going to enjoy it?  Then you might as well get plastic flamingos or a maintenance service.

If you keep a lot of this in mind the most work you should have to do is in the wake/clean them up in Spring, and send them to bed in Fall.

Low Maintenance Plants are the easiest if you are just starting out, or don't want to do a bunch of research.  They are flexible and tough plants.  In Minnesota prairie plants and natives are pretty much no-brainers.

• This list is from the U of MN Extension.  Holy crap it is huge!  
• I'd check this book out.  I have her perennial gardening book and I really like it.

Toilet Paper Seed Pots

I actually did this today.  Super easy and it makes you less unhappy when your spouse/kids forget to change the roll.

Simply cut a TP roll in half length-wise and cut 4-1/2" tabs on the bottom and fold in like you would for a box.

Fill them up with a germination mix and when you start getting true leaves just plant the whole tube into the ground or pot or wherever.

These are bio-degradable and as they de-grade they'll eventually feed the soil for the next year!


There are probably many sites with different ways of doing it and with pictures, but I found it at this website.

Grow your own Fountain of Youth!

Big ole Bad Bug Bashing: Plants

Bugs are annoying.  I'm not talking all bugs, but the ones that bite us, our pets, and our favored plants.
What we hate worse.. is Chemicals!  Smelly, sticky, toxic, not-good-for-anything chemicals.  Nobody likes wearing big spray, or the smell of insecticides.  They can be expensive, and sometimes just don't work.

This is part of a series of organic bug controls.

There is no such things as 100% bug control.

Repelling bugs is the first step toward a happier, less Bad Bug-ier existence.  The best way to do that is Biodiversity!  So when you are planting your garden, add in some of these other plants to help deter the average garden pest.  Sadly I have yet to find anything that deters children except things with thorns.

Flies	Fleas	Cats	Mosquitoes	Spiders	Moths
Sweet Basil	Tansy	Rosemary	Rosemary	Mint	Tansy
Bay Leaf	Bay Leaf	Lemon grass	Sweet Basil	Citrus	Sweet Woodruff
Tansy	Lavender	Rue	Lavender	Lavender	Bay Leaf
Pennyroyal	Pennyroyal	Wormwood	Pennyroyal		Lavender
Artemisia	Garlic		Citronella		Artemisia
Rue	Mint		Lemon grass		Rue
	Rosemary		Marigold		Thyme
	Chrysanthemum		Eucalyptus		Wormwood
	Fennel		Garlic
	Rue		Catnip
			Ageratum
			Horsemint

Ants	Mice	Rabbits		Slugs/Snail	Deer	General
Tansy	Tansy	Lavender		Sage	Marigold	Henbit
Sweet Woodruff	Bay Leaf	Garlic		Artemisia	Lavender	Aster
Mint (any)	Mint	Allium		Garlic	Sage	Geranium
Catnip	Catnip	Wormwood		rosemary	Basil	Calendula
	Castor Bean			Anise	Wormwood	Chrysanthemum
	Lavender					Onion/Allium
	Wormwood					Wormwood
						Garlic
						Nasturtium

Aphids	Caterpillars	Hoppers	Jap Beetles
Chives/Allium		Geraniums	Garlic
Basil		Petunia	Catnip
Catnip			Chives
Mint			Chrysanthemum
Yarrow			4 o clock kills
Garlic			Geranium
Dill			Larkspur
Petunia			Tansy
Anise			Rue
Coriander